Bugs, Dogs, and a Flower
by roterritter
Summary: Aburame Shino is secretly falling in love with his best friend’s older sister, Inuzaka Hana. Yet, like a bee drawn to a flower, Shino can’t resist her. ShinoHana.
1. Bugs

**Bugs, Dogs, and a Flower**

By: roterritter

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto the series or its characters.

Genre: Romance/Action

Rating: T

Summary: Aburame Shino is secretly falling in love with his best friend's older sister, Inuzaka Hana. Yet, like a bee drawn to a flower, Shino can't resist her. ShinoHana.

Timeframe: This takes place three years after Part II, but no real references are made to it.

A/N: There is a five year difference between the two characters, but its only two more than the popular Shikamaru and Temari pairing. However to be safe I've made Shino eighteen at the time of this story.

Interesting fact, the known Inuzuka members are all named after a part of the body of a dog (claw, fang). This includes Hana whose name means nose, but the name alone could also mean flower, which in this story is particularly ironic for a certain bug using ninja.

* * *

**Chapter One - Bugs**

The rising sun broke through the dusky clouds to bring light across a huge forest outside of Konoha, which was still damp from a brief morning rain.

Aburame Shino walked along the wet grass and ignored the water drops falling from the vibrant green tree leaves like belated raindrops. They fell harmlessly on his tall collared coat as he brushed past the majestic trees.

He carried a small bug carrier in one hand, but it was currently empty except for the few essentials to keep a captured insect alive. It was his hobby to observe bugs, sometimes collecting them, but never to kill them. It was a strange hobby for a person whose life was already overflowing with bugs. However, on a peaceful morning like this in a silent forest without a new mission in sight, he could enjoy his quiet yet thoughtful hobby.

His own destruction bugs were busy going about their daily business within the nest, making sure their population continued to grow to accommodate Shino's own growing skills. His advancement had recently earned him a promotion to Jounin and the large gourd he had strapped to his back, which held the huge number of destruction bugs that could no longer all fit within his body or hide underneath his coat.

The gourd was a symbol of an extremely skilled Aburame, but it had earned more than one joke from his comrades and friends that it made him look like Gaara.

It wasn't that unusual to him, a large gourd was a useful object. A sand user from Suna could use it to carry sand while a bug user from Konoha could use it to carry bugs. He didn't see the humor in it, especially in something that had quickly turned into another burden to carry on his shoulders like a boulder.

Yet, there was no way around it. An Aburame's skills were based around their destruction bugs. The bigger techniques required more bugs, but their bodies could only hold so many of them and Shino had gone past the number he could hide within his coat without it being obvious.

Shino continued to walk through the forest, his eyes carefully inspecting each tree, leave, and bush for something new and interesting, while burying his inner angst with little success. The quietness was nice for peaceful relaxing, but it was easy for his thoughts to roam into the angst that almost every Aburame carried.

A distant shout broke his thoughts. It repeated again, growing closer. The voice was low and feminine. At this distance, he couldn't place it, but something about it was familiar.

"Koumaru!"

He decided to wait until the voice got closer. If someone were lost, he should offer his help. If they would take it from him, despite the excellent search and tracking abilities of Team 8, there were those who were put off by his own methods. There were far too many people to his liking that were disturbed that his bugs lived inside of him.

At the age of eighteen, he was now the age that some ninja started looking to start a family. Many of his comrades and friends were in relationships, including his own teammates. The only real bachelors weren't alone from lack of others interested in them. Yet, Shino had suffered through several rejections, during each he had hidden his reaction behind his cool demeanor as if he didn't really care, but he knew the reason for each one.

They knew his body was merely a walking nest made of flesh and blood for thousands of tiny dark bugs that lived and died within him. Few could get past the small holes that covered him head to toe, no matter how much he hid them. In a relationship with someone else, he couldn't wear his coat forever.

If things continued like this, the elders of his clan may try an arranged marriage to ensure the continuation of the family and its abilities and lineage. He wasn't the first Aburame who found it hard to be accepted because of his bugs and there were a few outsiders who wanted to marry into a superior clan, even the Aburame clan, but that didn't make him feel much better. It just made him realize a relationship outside of love might be inevitable.

"Koumaru!"

The voice was getting closer and now he knew it was a woman. In fact, it was clear enough now he suspected who it was.

Inuzuka Hana stepped out into his view from behind one of the many trees of the forest. She was still calling out for Koumaru before she even noticed him, giving him a chance to watch and take note of her before she saw him.

She wore her usual Chuunin outfit complete with a green flak jacket without pouches and tight black shorts rather than her white veterinarian uniform she wore when working in the hospital. Both of which looked good on her slim body. Her straight, brunette hair was pulled into a ponytail held in place by two hairpins and the red facial tattoos highlighted her attractive facial features.

The young woman was also the older sister to Shino's teammate and best friend, Kiba, which meant he wasn't a stranger to her. She was always friendly toward him, but Shino had a secret that he couldn't even tell Kiba.

Shino had a childhood crush on Hana and although he had grown up and apart from those days since he felt those undeveloped young emotions, she still affected him in ways that gave him butterflies in his stomach whenever he was around her.

"Hana?" he announced, not wanting to make it seem he was hiding. A fearful part of him told him to ignore her and leave, while the part that liked her wanted to be near her and the part of that was a best friend with Kiba told him to help his friend's sister. With two against one, he had no choice.

She looked at with a serious expression at first, partly from surprise, but when she recognized him, her face lightened with a smile spread on her pink lips.

"Shino!" she yelled as she jogged closer to him, her ponytail flapped behind her like a dog's tail. "What are you doing out here?"

"I…was bug collecting," he answered as he lifted the empty insect carrier. He reminded himself that Aburame were cool and collected and didn't blush or stutter when a pretty woman talked to them. "Are you looking for someone?"

She nodded her head, "I'm looking for a puppy named Koumaru. He disappeared. I managed to track him to the forest, but with the morning rain, I lost his scent."

Shino watched her look around the area, her dark eyes scanning area as she sniffed the air. He had no doubt she was using the Inuzuka ability to enhance her sense of smell by sending chakra to her nose. He was very familiar with the ability because of Kiba.

He was suddenly nervous for a second, remembering that she would have no problem smelling the destruction bugs on him. For once, someone wouldn't have to see his bugs to be disgusted with him. All she had to do was smell them.

However, he was a little shocked when she smiled at him, as if she wasn't disturbed by his presence at all. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips, "I've lost his scent completely…this is strange…not even the rain should have done this."

Shino turned his thoughts away from himself and thought about Hana's situation. The puppy was no doubt on of the Inuzuka's dog familiars, they were as much their partners as the destruction bugs were to the Aburame. Hana had her own partners, but he didn't see them now.

"Where are the Haimaru Triplets?"

"I split them up, each taking a different direction of the forest. They are suppose to call out if they found something," she told him. "But I doubt they have more luck than I did."

She turned to him and looked at him in a curious way, as if thoughtfully considering something. He was very glad for his sunglasses at the moment, not sure if he wanted to meet her dark eyes eye to eye, fearing he would betray himself.

"Shino, you could do an aerial search with your destruction bugs, couldn't you?"

She surprised him again. Hana never tried to distance herself from him, despite whatever she learned about him, which was one reason why he liked her, other than her attractive appearance. It wasn't as if she didn't know what he was capable of, Kiba had a tendency to tell his family about Team 8's missions with excitement and to Shino's annoyance, he never unembellished Shino's own actions.

Telling others about their abilities and their nature, was not something the Aburame did often. Others learned about them by watching their actions and the Aburame enjoyed the mystery that surrounded their clan. It reduced the number of people who would distrust them because they felt uneasy about people with bugs living inside of them.

Yet, Kiba's family never treated him any worse for it. In fact, despite what they knew, he was always welcomed in their home when he visited.

So despite his misgivings about showing off his bugs to someone he felt attracted to, he couldn't say no to her. Even if he did the wrong thing and refused, he would still have to face Kiba for brushing off his sister like that. Kiba didn't know how Shino felt, but refusing to help one of his family members would only hurt their friendship and he didn't want that either.

Luckily, he realized he didn't have to reveal himself completely. For once, he was thankful for the heavy gourd filled with destruction bugs. There would be enough for an aerial search without releasing those inside his body.

Shino reached back and pulled the large cork stopper off the gourd. An audible hum from inside the gourd increased as the bugs inside prepared to move. He then moved his hands into a simple hand seal to communicate his orders to the destruction bugs.

A huge, black swarm burst out of the gourd as they flew up into the sky as the loud buzzing of their wings came and went quickly. After they flew above the trees, they spread out in all directions.

"This could take a while," he warned her.

"That's fine," she told him as she rested against a tree and folded her arms.

They were both silent at first, one could never say the Aburame were masters of small talk. Shino was person of few words, he would talk when necessary, even during combat to calmly explain to his opponent the flaws of his strategy, but finding the words to say to the girl he liked was another matter.

Why did he like her?

Hana was beautiful for one thing, that wasn't hard to miss. That alone initially attracted him to her. She had the slim, ruggedness of the Inuzuka clan, but the typical features of her clan, such as the feral eyes and ragged hair, were softer on her. She also wasn't skin and bones like some kunoichi, as evident by her partially unzipped flak jacket, and her low voice could make any word sound sensual if she tried.

Beyond that, she was a perceptive and talented young woman. She loves animals deeply and unlike Kiba, she has a calm and collected personality, a type that is highly valued by the Aburame clan. While dogs and bugs might seem a world apart, there was so much that he understood about her.

Remarkably, she never seemed awkward around him, which in turn made him feel awkward himself because he didn't know how to deal with a woman he liked that didn't reject him. Kurenai and Hinata were a different matter, they were likefamily. Hana was different…from everyone.

However, there was another problem. She was not only his best friend's sister. She was Kiba's _older_ sister. She was older only by five years, a difference in age that didn't seem much, except that she was grown up when he was still thirteen.

Yet, time and maturity were a matter of perspective. He was already a Jounin while she was still a Chuunin and he was arguably the most mature of the Rookie Nine boys.

"I haven't seen you in a while," she told him, her voice softened for the casual conversation. "You and little brother haven't worked together in a while either."

"We haven't," he said thoughtfully. "Although we were trained together to be an elite surveillance team, we've mostly separated lately to go into our own areas. It started with Hinata's obligations to her clan and then I was assigned to lead a number of Chuunin missions."

"Then Kiba went to work with the Military Police," she finished for him.

"Yes."

"That's the way it happens some times," said Hana as she looked up at the sky. "Since I started working at the hospital I don't have much time with my own team either."

Hana was a skilled and respected veterinarian. Konoha respected its animal familiars so much that the veterinarians worked side by side with the medical-nin and wore the symbol for "medicine" on their backs too. Many of the veterinarians were just as skilled in medical techniques as the medical-nin.

While the Aburame clan had their own experts to deal with the health of the destruction bugs' nest, Shino respected Hana's abilities.

"Little brother is also mad you made Jounin before him," she laughed. Hana was no doubt picturing the same complaints that Shino had gotten a dose of himself.

"Well…yes." He cleared his throat and looked away. "It's not because of Kiba's lack of skill. It is only a rank."

"Don't be modest, making full Jounin at the age eighteen is an amazing thing. Despite his complaints, Kiba is proud of you, but he is worried. He said you've been distant lately."

Shino looked at Hana in surprise. While his sunglasses covered his eyes, his eyebrows knitted together to show his emotion. Hana's own expression was filled with concern, but that confused him more.

"I've only been dealing with Aburame matters," he said. It was close to the truth, close enough anyway. He certainly wasn't going to tell her about his recent rejections.

His hand went and touched the gourd for a second before pulling away, but he knew he was too late as he saw her eyes catch him.

"I've never seen you with your gourd, although little brother told me about it," she said as she smiled, probably remembering one of the jokes Kiba had created.

Why did he have to pick one that looked like Gaara's. He could have picked a nice round one like his father's own gourd.

He gave her the standard line, "A gourd is just as useful to carry destruction bugs as it is to carry sand. Besides for that use there is no relation between the two."

"I agree."

What?

Hana smiled at him and continued, "There are many different ninja specialties, everything from elements, weapons, animal familiars, and more. Every ninja village can have many clans who might master their own specialty in their own way, but still might find they are similar to another clan from another village. There are cat users in Suna, but they aren't related to the Inuzuka in any way."

"I understand that part. The Aburame have their own bug user counterparts in the Stone Village," he told her. "Kiba's jokes don't bother me as much as the strain the gourd places on me. It…requires some adjustment."

She was about to ask him what he meant, but a swarm of destruction bugs returned.

Shino lifted his hand and let them swarm around it. He concentrated on communicating with them, although their buzzing and chittering was probably as alien to Hana as her dog's whimpers and barks were to him.

"Did they find Koumaru?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes," he said. He frowned at what the bugs told him, but he pointed in a direction further away from the village. "Koumaru is in that direction. There is a forest clearing not far from here. It shouldn't be hard to find."

"Thanks Shino," she told him as she started to walk off.

"Wait," he said. She turned back to him and looked at with puzzlement, the look alone caused him to pause for a second. "The…puppy isn't alone. There was a man wearing a Konoha ninja flak jacket holding the puppy. He also had a large dog with him, but I don't think he's an Inuzuka, and he seemed to be waiting."

"Waiting?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Shino felt she already knew who he saw. "What did he look like?"

Shino was a little uncomfortable with the intensity of her gaze, but he slid his sunglasses back with a finger, making sure they covered his eyes. He concentrated on the image in his head, put together from the insect vision of several bugs through their compound eyes. It wasn't perfect and missing details, but good enough.

"He's a large man, broad shouldered and rugged, but he doesn't have your clan's facial tattoos. His dog also has a collar on it, which I don't ever remember seeing Inuzuka using collars."

"Because we don't!" Hana's face twisted into fury, something he expected from Kiba or her mother. Her hand clinched into a fist as she looked away.

"You know this man," he said. It wasn't a question.

She looked at him apologetically. "Inukai Kizuna. It has to be him."

"Inukai?"

"Not related," she told him quickly. "He comes from a poor family of dog trainers who moved into Konoha when he was a little boy. They aren't even ninja, but Konoha's entire school system is based on ninja training, even if the actual number of Genins who graduate is small. So, he went to school and actually had talent and he admired my clan ever since he grew up. He saw us as both ninja and dog trainers, so that's what he wanted to be too."

"So that explains his dog."

"Not quite," she said as she crossed her arms and sighed. "He admires us and tries to emulate us, but he doesn't understand us. Our dogs are our partners! We would never put a collar around their neck and we would never try to discipline them by hurting them, but Kizuna does and because of that he will never be an Inuzuka."

Shino listened carefully and watched the wave of frustration suddenly pour out of her. There were more things than she said, but who was he to dig deeper?

However, he had his concerns. "This man has Koumaru, possibly taken him and concealed his scent from you. He is also waiting, this seems like a trap."

"Perhaps." Hana gave him a warm smile of appreciating for his concern. "But not the kind you think. He's also my former boyfriend."

His eyes opened wide in shock. A twinge of jealousy filled him, even though she did say _former_.

"We dated for a while, I guess he saw me as his way into the Inuzuka clan, marry me and be adopted into the family, kind of like my Dad did my Mom, but without the love."

Shino understood. Ninja clans were determined to keep their advanced bloodlines and secret techniques within the clan, although the Hyuuga were the most extreme in this area. Unlike an ordinary family, they couldn't just marry off their daughters like tradition, without their secrets being born in someone else's family. To avoid marrying within the clan, even men were married into the clan to ensure the continuation of the clan's name and bloodline.

"His family was dirt poor, I guess he isn't completely proud of them and saw the Inuzuka as something better, something more honorable, but he refuses to see our way of thinking." Her hand slowly caressed her neck. Her voice was sad. "He placed collars on his dogs and sometimes I felt he wanted to put one on me. The last straw for me was a choker he gave for a gift. It looked like a collar. It was humiliating and insulting!"

He didn't know what to say in response, not after she told him information from her personal life. She had never done so before.

"Shino," her voice turned serious. "Thanks for helping me, but I can take care of this. He probably only wants to convince me to change my mind."

He didn't know what to say to that as he watched her walk way. What could he do? It wasn't his place as merely a friend of her brother's to interfere.

However, there was something about her description of Inukai Kizuna that he didn't like, that he didn't trust either. The Inuzuka didn't treat their dogs as pets or servants. They were their partners and they learned to communicate with him, much as he did with his bugs, but they also emulated them, many of their secret techniques were based on wild moves.

Yet, what Hana described was a man who didn't emulate dogs. He became their master, which the Inuzuka would find insulting since they identified so much with their dogs. It disturbed Shino to think how this man might see Hana. He didn't want to see the woman he liked in that position. Neither as the best friend to her brother nor as the young man who remembered her as his boyhood crush.

Shino made a decision.

He pulled the strap to his gourd off his shoulder and placed the gourd on the ground. If more of his destruction bugs returned they would start with this place. They should all return to the gourd without him loosing any of them and he had enough bugs still inside of him should he need them.

Shino leapt into the trees and ran from branch to branch silently. He didn't want her to think he had no faith in her, so he would hide, but should she need him, he would be there.

**Next Chapter – Dogs**

_Shino races to defend Hana, but is forced to use his Jounin level skills. _

* * *

_Author's Note: This was suppose to be a one-shot, but it got too long and I didn't want to put a lot of work in this just for it to disappear off the first page in a day, so I split it into three chapters. Readers of my other stories, don't worry…this is something due to the dreaded plot bunnies, but I'll return to my other stories soon. _

_Inukai Kizuna is a character created by me. I needed a bad, alpha male type to help catalyze the relationship between Shino and Hana. _

* * *

Version 1.1 

1.0: Original

1.1: I misspelled my own original character's name! It it is Kizuna, not Kizuma. Little difference, but I choose Kizuna off of a kanji that means leash.


	2. Dogs

**Bugs, Dogs, and a Flower**

A/N: I started this before Shino reappeared in the manga with his new design. Consequently, the Shino in this story still wears a tall collared, white coat like his original instead of the new heavy hooded outfit he has. In addition, with a lack of canon information, I choose to be a little creative with Shino's abilities and how destruction bugs work and problems he might have.

* * *

**Chapter Two – Dogs**

Inukai Kizuna…

At first glance, most in Konoha would mistake him for an Inuzuka, although most Inuzuka would see that as being far from the truth. He was a large man, broad shouldered, and rugged like an Inuzuka, but he lacked their tattoos and had azure blue eyes.

Kizuna is not related to the Inuzuka clan in any way and his parents were poor dog trainers originally from a small village within the Fire Country. Moving to Konoha had made their rotten lives even more difficult and Kizuna replaced what he saw as failures for parents with dreams of becoming an Inuzuka.

Yet, he was only able to watch them from afar, while ignorant of the secrets that all ninja clans had. Not even fellow Academy classmates would know much about the abilities and subculture within another classmate's clan. He only saw them as dog trainers, like his own family, but they were extraordinary and respected.

He wanted to be respected as well. He wanted to be _one_ of them, but that would require more than training his own dog, Supaiku, in combination with his ninja techniques.

It would require marrying into the Inuzuka clan. Kizuna knew enough about the clans that a man marrying into a clan wasn't unusual, especially if the woman was a kunoichi. While clans with hidden techniques weren't as strict as clans with bloodlines, it was still important to keep their ninja techniques within the clan.

Therefore, he searched for an Inuzuka that was of marrying age and found a flower among the _dogs_. To tell the truth, he found many of the Inuzuka too scary and feral looking, but Inuzuka Hana was beautiful and he was determined to make her his.

* * *

Shino moved as silently as bug, despite racing through the forest hidden and down-wind in case Hana's enhanced sense of smell could detect his scent. 

More than once, he tried to convince himself to turn back. The rational part of his brain tried to tell him that this was a personal matter between Hana and her ex-boyfriend. Following her as he was, was nothing more than stalking the kunoichi he was attracted to and thoughts of concern for his best friend's older sister couldn't eliminate that.

He cursed himself more than once for this emotional response that he tried to keep buried. Feelings of infatuation and possibly love had placed him a position he shouldn't be in and forcing him to make unwise decisions such as leaving behind his gourd where more than half of his destruction bugs now resided. The same bugs he had spent a lot of chakra feeding earlier in the morning in an attempt to let his nest grow in-between missions and it could end up giving him a disadvantage to a fresh opponent.

Yet, it wasn't as if he had no faith in Hana. She was an experienced Chuunin who not only specializing in veterinarian medical techniques, but she was also skilled in her clan's techniques with three dogs rather than the normal one. Yet, the Haimaru Triplets were each searching in a different part of the forest, forcing Hana to face Kizuna without them.

An Inuzuka without her dogs was about as powerful as an Aburame without his bugs, which was not much at all. Too much training and skill went into combining their attacks with their animal familiars, leaving them vulnerable without them.

So involved in his thoughts, Shino almost went too far and miss the last available tree branch before the forest clearing. As it was, it swayed underneath the combined weight of him and his destruction bugs.

However, the green foliage of the trees hid him well, plus the added bonus of neither of two people standing in the forest clearing were expecting him to be there. They were both clearly focused on each other.

"My lovely Hana, look at what I found," said Kizuna innocently as he lifted up a yellow furred puppy, who wagged its tail happily at the sight of Hana.

Hana sighed before talking a controlled tone, "What are you up to Kizuna? Don't tell me that Koumaru managed to get out here all by himself."

Inukai Kizuna looked like how his destruction bugs described to him, but seeing him in person, Shino couldn't help but realize what about his man probably made Hana attracted to him. He was strong and ruggedly handsome and would have easily been mistaken for an Inuzuka except for the blue eyes that would have been exotic among the dark feral-eyed clan.

While Hana certainly learned more about Kizuna that she wanted, Shino understood the initial attraction, the need to find someone who understood her life. A fellow dog user, but unrelated to her clan, would certainly be interesting to her until she discovered his true self.

Shino pushed the twinge of jealousy way while struggling to maintain the Aburame's emotionless emulation of an insect. His surge of emotions would only serve to stir up the destruction bugs within him.

He studied him analytically, looking beyond his jealousy and tried to think of him as only a possible opponent. Kizuna wore a typical Konoha flak jacket with two giant shuriken strapped to his back and around his waist was a cord threaded through the loop end of several kunai. Shino's educated guess was this man was a projectile specialist, a ninja who specialized in throwing shuriken and kunai accurately and throwing a large number of them over using techniques.

Standing next to Kizuna's side was a large crimson furred dog. It wasn't as big as the Inuzuka clan's largest breeds like Akamaru, but it was covered in knotted muscle and nasty scars from a hard life. There was also a thick leather collar around its neck, but no leash.

"I want you to give me another chance," replied Kizuna as he appeared to give up his obvious charade. "You never give me a chance to talk to you otherwise."

Hana folded her arms across her chest, "With good reason."

"Come on," he pleaded as he placed Koumaru on the ground near his feet, "All I did was give you a gift. We were good together, but you snapped over such a tiny thing."

"Tiny thing?" she snapped. "You gave me a collar!"

"It was a choker," he argued. "And it looked pretty on you."

"I don't care! You still don't understand anything about the Inuzuka!"

"That again," growled Kizuna as his mode turned dark.

As the atmosphere in the forest clearing became more tense, Shino could feel his destruction bugs react to his silent call. With his attention on Hana, he ignored the discomfort and pain as a swarm of destruction bugs left his body quickly from underneath his coat.

Kizuna stepped away from Koumaru as he started to pace in frustration. Hana took advantage of his distraction as she walked over to where the puppy stood. While she walked, she placed two fingers to her lips and whistled loudly, as if to call the puppy over to her, but it just stood with its ears perked up. With her call apparently ignored, Hana reluctantly walked closer to Kizuna to reach the puppy.

"You never took the time to understand us," she said softly. "Instead you tried to force your own beliefs on me. How did you expect to become part of my clan like that? I tried to teach you, but you would never listen—"

"Oh please!" yelled Kizuna as his anger rose as he paced closer to the puppy. "All you ever talked about was how much you loved your dogs more than me!"

In Kizuna's fury, his foot lashed out with obvious intent to kick the puppy. Hana saw this and with her ninja reaction time and incredible speed, she managed to pick up Koumaru and shield him from Kizuna's kick. Yet, her speed wasn't enough to avoid the kick herself and Kizuna's foot landed hard against her ribs.

"Hana!" yelled Kizuna in surprise as he backed away from Hana's crouched form.

"This is why," she said practically with a painful whimper, but her voice was determined. "You are abusive to your dogs and your discipline is cruel. My clan may roughhouse and even bite and kick our dogs to maintain the pack hierarchy, but they remain our partners. Instead, you think you are the master and they are your slaves to abuse."

"Y-Your wrong," he tried to defend himself as he crouched down in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to make her see his way, but his hands slid down with an intimate familiarity that was no longer welcomed.

"Stop it—"

"STEP AWAY FROM HANA NOW…"

Both Kizuna and Hand turned in surprise as a third person entered the forest clearing. Aburame Shino stood still with his hands comfortably in his pockets and sunglasses over his stoic face, but his voice was deadly serious.

"Shino?" said Hana in surprise as she struggled away from Kizuna and managed to stand back up with the puppy in her hands, but the pain in her ribs made her wince.

"Who is this!" yelled Kizuna as he stood up too with a mixture of jealousy and new rage. "A new boyfriend coming to rescue you?"

"My name is Aburame Shino. I am—"

Hana interrupted, "He is my brother's teammate. We're done, Kizuna. Goodbye." She turned away from Kizuna and walked toward Shino with a small smile on her lips.

"Don't walk away from me!" he yelled as he extended his arm with his fingers wide spread. "DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME!"

"Hana, look out!" yelled Shino as he saw five chakra threads emerge and whip out from Kizuna's fingers, but it was too late as the blue threads encircled around Hana's throat.

Hana's knees buckled from underneath her, causing her to yelp and fall while sending the unfortunately puppy flying as she tried to brace herself with her hands stretched out.

"Chakra threads?" yelled Shino as started to move toward her.

"Don't move!" yelled Kizuna as the blue glow of the chakra threads increased suddenly, accompanied by Hana's screams as she clawed at the soil with her nails. Despite what he wanted to do, Shino managed to stop and watch as the brighter glow faded.

"This is my Chakra Leash Technique," explained Kizuna. He flexed the fingers of his seemingly free hand only to reveal another set of five threads appearing from his hand to his dog, which seemed to growl in response. "I've had a leash on Supaiku all this time, but with only a small amount of chakra it wasn't visible. My leash can immobilize and do more…"

Kizuna's dog, Supaiku, started to bark at Shino furiously and show off its sharp canine teeth while it strained against the threads that held it in place.

"Release Hana now," said Shino with no fear in his voice.

"Better worry about yourself, bug boy. You're about to be squashed," said Kizuna as he released the threads on Supaiku, letting the dog run toward its target.

"Shino, forget about me and run!" yelled Hana from where she was forced to her hands and knees, but Shino didn't move. Running would be an intelligent thing to do after having already used so much of his chakra to feed a large nest of destruction bugs that was almost too much for him; a nest that partially resided in a gourd that was sitting uselessly on the other end of the forest. He could have run, but he wouldn't…

Supaiku pounced at him, with foam practically coming from his mouth with anticipation for violence. Shino only pulled out a hand from his pocket in time for the dog to latch onto his lower arm with its powerful jaws.

A sickening crunch could be heard as the dog bit down.

"Shino!" yelled Hana. "Please, stop this Kizuna!"

Kizuna pulled one of the giant shuriken from his back and skillfully spun it with one hand while he maintained Hana's leash with the other. "No, this is your fault, Hana."

The giant shuriken was thrown into the air, the sound of its heavy blades roared as it sliced through the air as it got closer, but no matter how much Shino pulled, he couldn't drag himself out of the path of the shuriken while the dog held onto his hand and held him in place.

The shuriken finally stop spinning as it plunged right into Shino's chest…

"This was your fault," he repeated in a grave tone.

"No, this is your fault, Kizuna."

"Shino!" yelled Hana with joy as they both turned to see Shino alive and unharmed behind them. Yet, Supaiku's yelp drew their attention back as the "Shino" figure started to crumble apart into hundreds of tiny dark bugs. Some flew away while others fell onto the dog and started to feed on its chakra with a soft blue glow.

"A clone?"

"Yes," explained Shino calmly. "I wasn't sure of your method of attack. You appear to be a projectile specialist but I didn't know how much of the Inuzuka's techniques you had emulated. It appears none at all. You only used your dog to distract and restrain you opponent and by the number of scars, I would say you've missed on occasions."

"A fairly accurate assessment," said Kizuna. "But you forgot about these!"

With the hand that previously held the chakra leash on Supaiku, five new threads erupted out and whipped out toward Shino. While he tried to avoid them, they managed to encircle around his neck as well.

A surge of foreign chakra went through his body and Shino felt more than just his body being immobilized by the threads. He felt his bugs buzzing inside of him at their sudden interest in the new chakra.

"The more you resist, the more it's going to hurt, bug boy."

Shino slowly lowered himself down to his knees while he clawed at his throat with his fingers at a failed attempt to pull the threads off, but the managed to speak with difficulty, "Yet…now you have…both your hands too busy…to attack."

Kizuna smiled evilly, "Didn't I say I could do more than immobilize?"

The surge of chakra increased and Shino felt as if his body was being electrocuted with only chakra, but with a reluctant thought, he unleashed the destruction bugs inside his body. The bugs greedily fed on the chakra, his and Kizuna's all in one ravenous meal. The hold over Kizuna's leash lessoned, but his own stamina was being sucked away as well.

Shino moved his hands together, forming a seal and concentrating his chakra on all the destruction bugs inside of him. "Bug Dragon Bullet Technique."

He took a deep breath and could feel the destruction bugs fill his burning lungs until his chest felt as if it were about to burst from the inside out and then opened his mouth to release a powerful stream of destruction bugs held together with chakra into the shape of a dragon. The dragon seemed to roar with the buzzing and chittering of a thousand destruction bugs as it flew toward Kizuna with an insect fury.

With the massive pain and draining chakra, Shino missed his target as Kizuna easily dodged the frightening technique, but Shino's objective was achieved as Kizuna unleashed his chakra threads from Shino while he quickly tried to dodge the Dragon.

Shino managed to get back on his feet, driven by pain and anger. He moved in a blur, closing the distance between him and Kizuna instantly as he lashed out with a clumsy punch that Kizuna easily blocked with one hand and made a punch of his own that hit Shino over eye and shattering his sunglasses in several dark pieces that littered the ground.

"Bug boy, I don't know how you managed to move, but that was a pathetic attempt," he said as he watch Shino struggle back to his feet without his sunglasses. "I thought Aburame were suppose to be scary, but without your glasses you're just a pathetic punk. What do you like about him, Hana? I suppose he looks better than the rumors, I thought Aburame had bug eyes or empty eye sockets filled with bugs."

Shino eyes quickly glanced at Hana, unaware of the unhidden raw emotion that he exposed, but Kizuna took advantage of the moment, unhooked the cord of eight kunai from around his waist, and swung it toward Shino. Each kunai flew from the end of the cord, where it had been threaded through each metallic loop on the end of the handles, and into a scattered deadly rain of blades that Shino couldn't dodge.

"Unless you have another clone up your sleeves, I've got you this time, bug boy" mocked Kizuna as he watched Shino stagger as five of the eight kunai managed to strike his chest, plunging into his white coat.

But Shino didn't fall…

He stood as if the kunai sticking out of his chest didn't hurt at all and looked at Kizuna with his rather ordinary unhidden eyes. "You mock my destruction bugs, but you have no concept of their abilities…just like you have no concept of the true abilities of your dogs."

"SHUT UP!"

Almost as if Shino was responding to Kizuna's outburst, he was silent as he pulled the kunai away painlessly and unbuttoned his tall collared coat to show what stopped the kunai.

"G-Gross!" stuttered Kizuna as both he and Hana watched wide eyed as a massive heap of destruction bugs crawled along his bare chest. No shirt was there to restrict the movement of the destruction bugs as they moved in and out of dozens of dark holes that dotted his pale skin. Even his skin moved and distorted beyond his control as the bugs crawled along their tunnels made of his flesh.

Although he knew he shouldn't, Shino glanced toward Hana and saw her look of pity and sadness. He moved his eyes away and tried to hide the hurt. He knew that if she looked at him with pity while several feet away, if she was closer it would only be disgust.

"In this case, my destruction bugs acted like armor by linking themselves together with chakra. It was enough to stop your kunai without breaking my skin," he explained as he buttoned the coat back up. "And the attack you called pathetic, was only a distraction, one I thought you would have noticed since distraction is a method you seem familiar with. However, in this case, it will cost you."

Kizuna laughed, "What are you talking about?" He raised the fist he struck Shino with for emphasis. "You didn't do a thing to—WHAT?" Crawling on his hand was several stealthy destruction bugs. He raised his other hand to slap them away only to stop as he noticed bugs on that hand as well.

Shino watched the man with cold eyes. "I placed them on you when you blocked and punched me."

"It's only a few of them, what do you expect me to do? Dance around, scared over a few tiny bugs who can only tickle me to death?" He laughed at amusement of his own joke, but then the pain began. He started to slap his hands to brush the bugs away, but it was too late as he watched the last ones bore their way through his skin leaving bloody holes. "What are they doing!"

Shino talked slowly, unrushed by Kizuna's panic. "You set a trap for Inuzuka Hana and attempted to abuse her. You were careless with your own animal familiar as you tried to kill a fellow Konoha ninja. For all this I have no pity for you."

Kizuna yelled in pain as blood continued to pour from the holes. He hit his hands hard in a failed attempt to crush the destruction bugs from within.

Shino's voice was starting to show his exhaustion. "A few destruction bugs are not enough to drain the chakra from you, but they are enough to devour the chakra lines of you hands. Likely, you'll be unable to perform hand seals again, and you will certainly not be able to use your chakra leash."

Kizuna screamed in rage now as his fingers curled up in pain and he stared at Shino with rabid eyes.

However, the young Aburame was beyond that as the destruction bugs used in the Dragon Bullet and the bugs used for the clone earlier both crawled toward him at once to return to the nest. He groaned in discomfort as his body ached from chakra exhaustion and found he could no longer stand as he collapsed on the ground, unable to move.

"You are nothing but a bug!" yelled Kizuna as he stumbled over to Shino and stomped on the immobile Aburame's head.

"STEP AWAY FROM SHINO NOW!"

Kizuna turned, realizing that when he had released his leash on Shino he had also released Hana's as well. She was standing now, with a look of fury on her face, but now three gray furred dogs surrounded her protectively.

He looked at them with a dumbfounded expression. "When did they—"

"I called them when I whistled," she told him as she motioned with her two fingers to her lips, reminding him when she whistled for the puppy. "I wasn't just trying to call the puppy over, I used an Inuzuka technique to call my dogs. Even with your technique to hide the scents in this clearing, it wasn't enough to hide me from my dogs. If you want to see more of the Inuzuka clan's techniques then let me show you—Haimaru Triplets!" she yelled as she pointed toward Kizuna, "Triple Piercing Fang!"

Kizuna had no chance to dodge as all three of the gray dogs pounced on him while spinning at a ferocious speed, each of them hitting him before he finally hit the ground unconscious and broken.

* * *

For Shino it wasn't hard to sleep with one eye open and drift in a state of semi-consciousness with a body full of destruction bugs that seemed to never sleep. Yet, even in this state, dreams sneaked in and even distorted the conditions under which he slept. 

So when a pair of soft, warm lips touched his own and kissed him in a way he had never been kissed before, since no one had ever kept their lips close to his for long when they knew the bugs lurked not very far underneath his skin, he was sure he was dreaming.

He was too exhausted to even open his eyes, but as the lips moved away he felt disappointed knowing his dream probably wouldn't return again. The disappointment turned to alertness as she struggled through the fog of sleep.

Something else touched his lips, but this time it was wet and cold…a slightly furry.

Shino opened his eyes to see the yellow furred puppy sitting on his chest while licking his face. He sighed, knowing his pathetic mind had turned a dog's curious licking into something else in his dreams.

"Koumaru, don't bother him," said Hana softly as she picked the dog up and placed him in her lap. "Sorry, Shino, I wish you could have slept longer."

"I'm fine," he said as he brought an arm up to wipe off his face with his sleeve. He looked around and saw they were underneath a tree near the clearing with Hana sitting next to him and her dogs sitting around her. "Kizuna?"

"Gone," she answered. "I had the Triplets hit him a few times for him to get the message. He grabbed Supaiku and ran off."

"Did I go too far?" he asked. She looked at him questionably, but he felt she misunderstood. "I…probably ruined his career as a ninja. I wasn't lying about the damage the destruction bugs did to his hands."

"It was extreme, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad. He could stay a ninja as a projectile specialist, but without the chakra threads he can't control his dogs or people like us. If he tries to make an issue of it, there are plenty of Inuzuka have pull within the Military Police. Many in the clan only see him as an imitator and a bad one at that. I don't think you have to worry about being arrested."

"Hmm…"

They were silent for a while. The puppy seemed content with Hana's playful petting and Shino's mind was slowly registering how much damage had been done to the hive, silently mourning the destruction bugs that had been lost.

"HEY!"

Shino managed to sit up at the sound of a familiar yell. Inuzuka Kiba walked into the clearing, hunched over while struggling to carry Shino's gourd over his back. He blinked at the sight of his big sister and her dogs sitting comfortably around Shino, who seemed laying relaxed on the ground. "Big Sis? What's going on here?"

"Nothing Little Brother, just a problem with Inukai Kizuna. Shino helped me take care of it," explained Hana.

"Oh…but Shino looks exhausted. He's an _elite_ Jounin now," Kiba said in a half-mocking tone. The other half was being an annoying little brother, "Surely he could have taken care of garbage like Kizuna easily. Are you sure that's all that happened here."

A Haimaru barked a warning that Kiba was taking it too far.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Here's your gourd," he said as he placed the gourd on the ground. "I found it lying in the middle of the forest. I figured something was up knowing you wouldn't leave it behind like that. You can keep it…it was starting to creep me out."

"Thanks…Kiba," said Shino as he approached his gourd.

"Destruction bugs aren't creepy at all," Hana said softly as she looked at Shino warmly for a second then back to Kiba and changed her tone to the authority of a big sister. "I'm sure you can manage to carry it back to Konoha for Shino, Little Brother."

Hana was already walking away with the puppy in her arms and her dogs following her. Kiba grumbled as he watched her and then looked back at Shino, but then he frowned.

"Ah, Shino? Why do you have pink lipstick on your lips?"

**Next Chapter - A Flower**

* * *

_Author's Note: I wanted to end this story here, but I've changed my mind and decided to write one more chapter. I think this story needs a proper conclusion for this pairing so it doesn't appear so one-sided. So expect a conclusion soon..._

* * *

Version 1.1 

1.0: Original

1.1: Changed the Author's Note and removed the "Epilogue - Flower" line to reflect that a third chapter will be made, titled "Flower".


	3. Flower

**Bugs, Dogs, and a Flower**

A/N: I intended to end this story with the last chapter, but something about it just didn't feel complete. As a result, I've written this chapter to set Shino and Hana on the pairing path. I'm still new at writing pairings, so be sure to let me know how I did with a review!

* * *

**Chapter Three – Flower**

Each step Shino took felt like someone had filled his feet with lead. Not only was the walk back to Konoha uncomfortably silent, but he had taken back his gourd despite his weakened state. The destruction bugs inside only tolerated being carried by someone else for so long before they let their displeasure known in an audible hum, amplified by the hollow gourd. The eerie sound eventually made Kiba too uncomfortable to carry it any further.

Hana was oddly silent as they traded the gourd, since she had been the one to insist Kiba carry it in the first place. Even her playfulness with her brother had disappeared with silence as she kept several feet ahead of them with her dogs following loyally behind her.

There was one advantage to walking behind Hana, as it gave Shino an alluring view of Hana's tight black shorts and her—

_thump_

Kiba's fist gave him a well-deserved punch. He growled in a low voice that only Shino could hear, "You better be looking at the dogs' tails!"

"Forgive me," he said in his typical stoic fashion despite his uncharacteristic behavior. Of course, he reminded himself that perhaps his roaming eyes wouldn't have even been caught if it weren't for his sunglasses being smashed to pieces during the fight with Kizuna.

"What is with you!" growled Kiba in a low voice. "First you kiss my sister, doing who knows what, and now your looking at her—"

"It wasn't like that," defended Shino. "The kiss I mean."

"Yeah…like her pink lipstick landed got on your lips any other way!"

Shino couldn't argue with that logic, even if he had no real memory of the kiss itself. He remembered a dream in his half-asleep state, which he guessed wasn't really a dream, but it didn't make sense to him. Likely, she kissed him in return for his heroic rescue, but if she saw him as her brother's teammate and best friend then he expected an innocent kiss on the forehead or on his cheek. Instead, her kiss was on the lips and long enough to set his mind in dizzying confusion, making him question for the first time how Hana saw him.

However, since Kiba was his teammate and best friend, he felt he should have said anything to satisfy him. Yet receiving any kiss from his childhood crush wasn't anything he wanted to take back or deny, but he couldn't exactly tell Kiba that either.

Kiba growled at him again as if sensing his thoughts, "I'm tired of talking to you anyway. Without your sunglasses you look like a stranger!"

Hana turned toward them for a moment, "I think Shino looks cute without them." However, she quickly looked forward again, missing Kiba's frustrated snarl.

"AH!"

The silence continued again until they reached the edge of the village.

Hana stopped and waited for them to catch up. "Kiba, go find mother and tell her what happened." She saw Kiba open his mouth, so she quickly handed him the puppy Koumaru before he could tell her his version would differ from hers. "Tell her Inukai Kizuna attacked me and Shino stopped him. Kizuna may have some bad injuries, so ask her to pull some strings with the Military Police to make sure Shino doesn't get in trouble. Okay?"

"Yeah, right," he grumbled. Even Shino could tell the bratty little brother in Kiba couldn't resist telling on his older sister. "Where will you be going?"

Hana crossed her arms across her chest and looked at Kiba with a serious expression to counter against whatever thoughts Kiba had in his head. "I'm going to go with Shino back to his home. In case you haven't noticed he can barely walk."

Kiba knew that it made more sense for Shino's teammate and friend to take him back, but he wisely kept his mouth shut about it. "See you later, Shino."

Shino watched his friend walk away. One kiss with undecipherable meaning had already changed their relationship. His old crush hadn't even been revealed and Hana hadn't done anything to hint that it was more than a chaste kiss, but the damage was done.

"Shino, don't worry about Kiba," said Hana. "He'll get over it before you know it."

They continued to walk, this time side by side, but the silence seemed to remain.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you," she told him softly. "For helping me. Kizuna is so desperate to have me, that I'm not sure what he would have done."

"No, I must apologize for following you," he told her. "I shouldn't have."

"I'm glad you did."

That was ambiguous enough to make him wonder. Was she only glad that someone saved her from Kizuna doing more than just molesting her while he had her on his chakra leash or was she glad that he in particular had showed concern for her?

Yet, he still couldn't bring himself to ask that question or what the kiss meant.

Hana's arms suddenly wrapped around his, but it wasn't an intimate gesture. Instead, it was to keep him from falling as his knees seemed to weaken beneath him for a moment.

"You're still weak, but we're almost there. Do you think you can make it?"

"Y-Yes," he managed past ragged breathing. Hana moved his arm around her shoulder while she placed one of he own around his back and the other to his side to help support him with her Inuzuka ruggedness as they continued to walk.

"You're weaker than you should be. You're a Jounin and yet a few techniques against Kizuna have you at the point of chakra exhaustion. Even Kizuna's chakra leash couldn't do this. Therefore, I assume it has to do with your bugs. I'm not an expert on bugs, but I am a veterinarian, so if you want to tell me, you can," she told him.

Shino considered not telling her. He hadn't even told Kiba, but at the moment with her so close and soft against him, he couldn't resist telling her what she wanted to hear.

"Like the Inuzuka, the Aburame's techniques are dependent on the capabilities of our animal familiars. Since you have the Haimaru Triplets, you should understand the more high level techniques require more familiars."

"Or bigger, in the case of Akamaru, but I understand."

With her help, Shino was finding his strength returning as he had help carrying such a heavy weight. Perhaps in more ways than one as he told her the secret he was hiding.

"For the Aburame, this requires allowing our nest of destruction bugs to grow larger to the point that the nest can no longer fit inside our bodies. This requires us to store them inside gourds, but all destruction bugs feed on chakra—"

Hana completed his sentence, "So the more bugs you have then the more chakra you must give them, but you only have so much chakra Shino. There has to be a limit."

"There is, but the Aburame tradition is to fill the gourd past our natural limits and then train to increase our physical and mental energies enough to support the new nest."

"So, it is like training with weights? Your practice with a heavy weight even though at first it is almost too heavy for your muscles, but eventually as your muscles increase in strength, the weight becomes lighter."

"Correct. Usually this is done in a period when we can expend all our chakra expenditure to the growth of the nest. I didn't expect to actually fight during this time."

"Sorry," she told him with a warm smile as she tightened her embrace around him. "You know Shino, I like that you love your bugs deeply. I feel the same way about my dogs and everyone I work with in the hospital. Although the temperament of our clans is different, I feel there is lot we can understand about each other."

"I feel…the same way."

They continued to walk in silence, while Shino thought about another ambiguous conversation that him wondering what she really meant. Yet, at the moment he decided to enjoy the closeness he had with her.

It didn't take them long to finally reach the Aburame district and more specifically his home. She pulled away, letting his arm slide off her shoulder, and he expected her to leave, but instead she seemed to order her dogs to wait outside while she stayed by his side. She no longer needed to support him, but she walked close to him as they entered.

"Shino, it's about time you got home. We've been waiting."

Aburame Shibi, his father, sat in the main room of the Aburame home, apparently in the role of host for three people who where definitely not Aburame.

It didn't take Shino suddenly stiffening beside her, for Hana to realize the situation wasn't good. In fact, there was one possibility that horrified them both.

"Father?" asked Shino.

Shibi gestured to the two of the three strangers in the house; "These are the Hachibana family." The Hachibana consisted of a man and a woman.

The woman was rather ordinary and wearing a plain dull yellow kimono, but the man was unusual. His eyes bulged in what would have been appropriate to call "bug-eyed" if it wasn't for the company of people who would have taken offense to that expression. He also had a hunchback that apparently wasn't crippling as he was dressed in a blue Konoha uniform, hinting that he was more than he seemed.

"And this is their daughter."

The young woman about Shino's age and she wore a dull yellow kimono with hexagon patters on the shoulder. Her features were a blend of her parents, the ordinary looks of her mother, but the bulging eyes and fuzzy blonde hair of her father.

"I am Hachibana Mitsu. I am here to be wed to you." Any other person would have shouted in surprise, but Shino only frowned. His disapproving expression was unhidden without his sunglasses, but Mitsu was not discouraged as she stood up, walked over to Shino, and took his hand with hers. "I'm here to be your wife!"

"What!"

It was Hana who yelled and she blushed furiously underneath the red tattoos on her cheeks, as everyone turned their attention to her.

Mitsu spoke with disapproval. "And who is this?"

Hana in turn only wrinkled her nose and snarled at the girl's frown.

Shino spoke for her; "This is Inuzuka Hana of the Inuzuka clan."

It occurred to him he should say more, such as she was his teammate's sister, but it explained little why she was here. However, he didn't know what else to call her or to explain their new closeness…which was likely shattered by this latest news.

His father tried to explain for him, "Hana is the sister of Shino's teammate".

"Hana as in a flower?" asked Mitsu.

Hana answered uncomfortably, "No, more like Hana as in a dog's nose."

"How unfortunate for you."

Hana bristled at the comment. The confusion of her name due to the naming convention of her family had earned her more than one comment in the past, but the way Mitsu treated it, irritated her. She already felt awkward for being named after a dog's nose rather than something more dramatic like claws and teeth, but the way the girl treated it, sounded like she hadn't even believed that Hana could have named after a delicate flower.

Suddenly, Mitsu quickly looked back and forth at Shino and Hana. He didn't know what she was looking at, but he realized it hadn't been his eyes. Suddenly, Mitsu let go of his hand and ran out of the room as quick as possible with tears falling from her homely eyes.

"Apparently she is more than that," said Mitsu's father in an unfriendly tone as her mother placed a hand over her shocked mouth.

Hana gasped in horror and whispered into Shino's ear, "My lipstick is on your lips!"

Shibi spoke in a calm voice, surprisingly unchanged despite any shock he might have felt, "Shino, why don't you go to your room and get cleaned up."

"Yes father."

He turned to go to his room, but Hana stopped him for a second by holding his hand. It was only a moment, but her slender fingers caressed his. "I'm sorry."

With that she turned and left.

* * *

Shino entered his room and was finally relieved to be able to place the gourd in its designated place. He removed his coat and pulled on a clean coat that looked practically identical to the other one, minus five holes from Kizuna's kunai. Lastly, he picked up a spare pair of glasses and wondered for a second if he truly looked cuter without them as Hana said before slipping them on. 

His thoughts centered on Hana's words as he wondered what "I'm sorry" meant. Was it an apology for having to leave or perhaps she felt sorry for him being forced into an arranged marriage? Perhaps it was even a reluctant apology that whatever was forming between them, couldn't go any further.

At this point, he figured he would drive himself crazy if he kept searching for hidden meanings behind every word she said.

"Shino."

Shibi entered the room and handed a wet washcloth to Shino. He was silent as Shino wiped off Hana's lipstick from his lips. "I can see you had an…interesting morning."

"Very unexpected, as is meeting the Hachibana. Why wasn't I told about this?"

"The clan elders have been in talks with the Hachibana for quite a while. I only knew that they would arrange for a marriage between one of the Hachibana and one of the young men of the Aburame clan. Yet, apparently with your history of failed relationships and the fact you are one of the most skilled of your generation, they decided to choose you for this marriage this morning. I didn't know that there was something between you and Tsume's daughter."

"There isn't…and now there never will be."

"I'm sorry Shino."

"Who are the Hachibana to receive such a special arrange marriage offer?"

"Bug users," he said as if the words explained everything and to Shino, they did. "They are Konoha ninja, but they have managed to keep themselves small and hidden like bugs…an admirable trait, but in one more generation they will be large enough to be considered a true clan. They are also very aware that the Aburame may not tolerate another bug using clan in Konoha and are familiar with the damage we did to the Kamizuru clan and their hornets. The Hachibana are small and their secret techniques are still developing, so the Aburame could very easily wipe them out if we choose. For those reason, they've arranged for this marriage for political reasons."

"But our elders offered up one of their best for this union for a reason."

"Yes."

Shino frowned at the simple answer, realizing how difficult it was to get an answer from someone with a calm and collected personality, which ironically was the person he had inherited his personality from.

"Why?"

"Because the Aburame wants something from the Hachibana as well. Given your history of relationships I think you can realize how beneficial to make arranged marriages with partners who don't fear our destruction bugs."

"And the elders are willing to do this even if it means losing others that don't fear our destruction bugs, but also love us as well?"

"You should know we rarely get both."His father placed a hand on his shoulder, "The Hachibana are waiting to get to know you further. I'll give you some time to freshen up."

With that, his father left him to his empty room, silent except for a soft hum coming from inside the gourd, perhaps the only real company he would ever have.

* * *

Shino stepped outside of the house for a breath of fresh air before committing himself to a room with his future wife and her family. He even left the gourd behind, avoiding the weight and the soft hum, although the bugs still inside him made their own sound that he could hear even though he wished he couldn't. 

"Shino?"

He didn't even have to turn around to recognize the almost unfamiliar voice, but he did turn to see Hachibana Mitsu standing behind him with her eyes lowered apologetically.

"Forgive me for running away."

"No, its not necessary," he told her, feeling partially responsible for her reaction to begin with. He knew despite the circumstances, it was highly inappropriate to meet his future wife for the first time and in front of her parents with the lipstick of another woman on his lips, especially if that woman was still by his side. "I understand completely why you were upset."

"You may have just found out about this wedding, but I've known about it for years. My family has always intended to a political union with the Aburame to insure our survival. I've known all that time that I would web one of the Aburame and I couldn't be more happy!"

"Happy?" he asked in confusion. "What is there to be so happy about being forced into a marriage with someone you don't even know or someone you don't even love? What is there to be so happy about when an arranged marriage might never bring either one us love?"

"You are being so pessimistic, beloved, but I can understand since you just found out about the marriage," she told him. Mitsu walked toward him with a small smile on her thin lips, "Even though I didn't know whom among the Aburame I would wed, I had already fallen in love knowing my husband would be able to understand me the most!"

Shino stayed stoic, even though he frowned at this girl's overwhelming love for a stranger.

As if to answer is unspoken questions, she raised her hand, but he looked puzzled at her gesture until he heard the soft buzz of bugs and eventually saw several black and white bees fly out from under her wide kimono sleeve and cover her outstretched hand.

He pushed his sunglasses up his nose in a thoughtful move while watching the bees carefully, "So, the Hachibana have insects living inside them as well?"

"Not like the Aburame," she answered while her face twisted into self-loathing. "It is not as perfected as your destruction bug nest, but when a Hachibana child is young, a beehive is implanted onto the child's back and as the hive grows it intertwines with the flesh."

"Then I take it your father's hunchback—"

"When the beehive grows larger it makes our backs crooked. Some of the largest beehives even look so round and bulbous it appears like an abdomen of a bee on our backs."

Shino watched her carefully, seeing some of the same dark thoughts that he thought about himself. The girl was disgusted with her clan, she must have felt the same about her body as he felt about his, and she saw him as a savior from her loneliness.

In a way, he could understand that.

The bees retreated into her sleeve and back into the hive that he now knew was on her back. With that same hand, Mitsu reached toward him and caressed his cheek, a soft intimate touch that he had never felt before, but it felt like a poor substitute for Hana's kiss.

His face remained stoic. Her touch was too cold to warm even his emotions when while she looked at him with adoration and love for him.

Yet, it wasn't really him…Shino could have replaced himself with any one of his cousins and it would have suited Mitsu fine. The peculiarity of the family resemblance he had with all his cousins, exaggerated by their same choice of coats and sunglasses, made them look like clones of each other or as indistinguishable as one bug from another within a swarm. Yet, while any one of them could have fit her ideal image of a husband from the Aburame, Shino and every one of his cousins knew they were individuals and not interchangeable.

Mitsu's love was as hollow to him as his gourd.

She moved away finally, "I'll go back inside."

Shino watched her turn and leave, his eyes couldn't help but look for the sign of the beehive that was on her back, as he stood alone again in the backyard of his home.

* * *

He spent his time inspecting a nearly ancient stone lantern behind his home and near his father's private garden, which was surrounded by vibrant trees and bushes that served as homes for a variety of bugs. Yet, thankfully there wasn't a single bee. 

"You can come out now."

A silent watcher, which he had noticed not long after Mitsu came to talk to him, hesitated to come out, but slowly Inuzuka Hana pulled herself from under the bushes along with all three of her dogs, which all three rapidly shook their heads back and forth to loosen the leaves stuck to their fur.

"I thought I was hiding pretty good."

"You were, perhaps if I were another ninja, but the bushes were filled with insects that were disturbed by your presence," he explained yet his dark mood couldn't hide an uncharacteristic smile at seeing her again. "I thought you left."

"I had," she told him as she approached him carefully. "But I…started feeling bad about what happened. I should have thought about the lipstick before."

"No, it is alright. I don't believe anything could prevent this marriage."

Hana looked at him thoughtfully as he continued to study the texture of the old stones. "Because it's a political marriage? I heard that part and from my own experience with Kizuna, I think I can piece together what's going on. The Aburame probably wouldn't like another bug clan around any more than the Inuzuka want another dog clan. So, I can understand this alliance, but that girl…"

She didn't finish, but Shino looked at her curiously, "What did you think of her?"

"She's cold…emotionally."

"But she seemed very happy for this marriage."

"No, Shino you don't understand. She's cold," she tried again. Hana reached up with both hands and pulled away Shino's sunglasses with her fingers gently touching his skin. He blinked as his green-tinted world suddenly changed to full colors again, but found Hana looking at him right in the eyes. "Your eyes are warm. Despite everything ever said about the Aburame, I can see your pain, your sadness, and…the way you look at me." Shino's eyes went wide with shock that she could see a part of the secret that he held, but she continued. "I don't see that with the Hachibana. It's more than their bug-eyes, which look alien as it is. Mitsu stood here telling you how much she loved you, but I didn't see it in her eyes."

When he thought about it, the Hachibana had achieved what the Aburame could only mimic with the dark lenses of their sunglasses: the imitation of insect-like emotion.

However, he never realized how much of his human emotions were exposed when his glasses were off or how much Hana must have noticed it. He tried to explain, "Hana…I—"

She placed a finger over his lips to stop him. A long fingernail, in perfect shape to transform into a sharp claw by a beast technique, grazed his skin as her finger moved away.

"Don't go through with this arranged marriage because you deserve better than Mitsu. It's a political marriage with two sides trying to get what they want, right? And you are not going to get anything at all, but feeling more miserable."

"The Aburame will get a number of possible partners for future arranged marriages. Finding those who can want to marry into the clan can be difficult, whether it is for love or for merely trying to continue the lineage of the clan. In return, the Hachibana get to survive."

She gave him a tender smile as she slid his glasses back on his face, "Did anyone tell you that some wasps lay their eggs in beetles while their alive? Destruction bugs are more like the beetles than the wasps and the Hachibana will get more out of his than you will."

Shino used a finger to side the sunglasses up and spoke in mock seriousness, "I thought I was the one who was suppose to use metaphors with bugs."

She laughed softly before finishing, "I understand what its like to want to be with someone you think can understand you. I was with Kizuna because I thought he loved dogs as I did, but he really just wanted to be extraordinary and respected like my clan. He only cared about my appearance and what I could give him, but he didn't really understand me. We were really too different and maybe I could have lived with that until he started treating me in ways that still make me ashamed of myself. Not even my mother or Kiba know that."

"Yet, you don't understand what it is like to have bugs crawling under your skin or borrowing tunnels through your flesh. You don't know what it is like to feel the bugs breeding inside of you when you can't even get the people you like to touch you without disgust. If I deserve better than Mitsu then who exactly is there left that wants to be with who I really am?"

While he said it in his typical impassive tone, he was sure it would leave a sting that would send Hana away. Yet, Hana didn't move away.

"Shino, open the holes on your face for me."

He blinked in surprise at the unexpected request. The holes the destruction bugs bored through his skin were always there and permanent, but an Aburame trick allowed him to close and conceal them from others. Since the bugs were always crawling along his skin underneath the darkness of his coat, more often than even his friends realized, the only place the trick was useful was the only exposed piece of skin he had…his face.

Since it would only prove his point, he did as she asked. It only took an act as simple as breathing to open a trio of holes on his cheek and one behind an ear.

However, Hana moved a hand up to his face and touched the holes softly with her fingertips, even as a group of destruction bugs left the holes with newfound freedom. To his surprise, she didn't even flinch as they crawled along her fingers and back onto his cheek. Instead, she brought her other hand to the other side of his face and pulled him closer to her until their lips met for the second time that day.

After a moment of breathless exploration, she pulled him away, but kept him close, nose to nose.

"I can't give you any promises where this may go. I can't make any guarantees if you choose me over Mitsu then I'll fall in love with you because yesterday I might have never done this, but today…has been a very busy day," she smiled as she explained how sudden her feelings were. "Yesterday, to me you were my brother's best friend. Someone whose been to my house so often that I knew I could depend on you and I even cared for you as someone close to my family, but today I feel a spark that you could become something more to me. I've seen a part of you that I want to get to know further and I want to help carry the burden you hide. More than that, you're special Shino. Even if there is nothing between us, don't give up and settle for someone like Mitsu!"

Shino's thoughts were in turmoil as he weighed the dream-like uncertainty of finally being with the woman that he had secretly cared for all this time or be with the possibly unescapable marriage with the girl with the untrue love, but unique insight into his internal torment.

There was really no choice. He circled his arms around Hana's waist and pulled her close to kiss her again, leaving no room for anything to come between them.

"The bee has no choice but to be drawn to the flower."

**The End**

* * *

_Author's Note: I tried not to make Hana do a 90-degree flip and say "I love you, Shino". Although this is a pairing story, realistically she is five years older than him and his best friend's sister. She should already be familiar with him since he is close to her family, which helps and so did the heroic rescue from her ex-boyfriend in this story. I tried for that spark that a person feels on a first date that tells them their date might be the one. _

_Hachibana Mitsuru is a character created by me. Like Inukai Kizuna from the previous chapters, she is used as a catalyst for the relationship between Shino and Hana._

_And if anyone is slightly confused by the last line, hint: Hana is the flower!_

* * *

Version 1.0 

1.0: Original


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